4/30 - Athens, Greece (Thursday)

Good-bye to Alsace and hello to Athens, Greece!

On our drive from Colmar back to Strasbourg to catch our flight to Greece!

There were many mustard fields in Alsace.  Pardon me...would you pass the Poupon?

It's hard to see, but these are the beautiful white-capped Alps!

Athens, Greece

This is how we traveled this year.  Kids had backpacks and I had a Granite Gear suitcase.

In the six seater limo van

The Fresh Hotel

Basic rooms

The view from our balcony

Every wall in Athens is covered with graffiti.

Wild life!

We were leery about eating in Athens.  This was the first restaurant we ate at.

David was not impressed with is Greek salad which was full of fresh tomatoes.  It was delicious!

Eggplant and Greek salad

An interesting Greek pie with veggies and cheese.   The restaurant gave us a free aperitif called Ouzo, which is colorless and tastes like anise.

By the time Jonathan's chicken kebob came, he was full of the handmade pita.

4/29 - Colmar, France (Wednesday)

The highlight of this day was the Bartholdi museum - the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.  His childhood home was converted into a museum containing many of his draft sculptures in various sizes.  His dining room had beautiful China pottery embedded into the walls and ceiling.

We dropped Michael's mom off and the kids at the apartments, then drove to the Rue de Vin or the Wine Road.  We were told that you can pop into any winery and taste, unlike some other wineries where you need a reservation.  It was nothing like Napa.  This region specializes in white wine and rose.  The tasting rooms were empty and cold.  It was an interesting experience but I would recommend going on a guided tour.

We drove out to to  Lac-Blanc (White Lake) which was beautiful. The Lac-Blanc Bike Park gets excellent reviews.  We had a homemade berry tart and cappuccino.  It was a fun date!

We were lost for breakfast.  We bought out all of the croissants at the first small cafe - poor guy but that left us wandering around for more.  One cup'a and one croissant was not enough for our family.  

These tools are a like a compass, to help measure and balance the sculpture's features.

See the stork's nest?  It's like the book The Wheel on the School.  The stork is the regional bird.

Salmon crepe!

Beautiful wisteria

Lac-Blanc (White Lake)

Raspberry and Blueberry Tart - no sugar - delicious!

A very cute quilt - reminds me of my mom.

At one of the wineries

I wanted to look at the farm animals and take photos for Ariella.

The cutest baby goat!

Beautiful French rooster!

Maybe we'll invest in a coop like this someday?

I wanted to show Joe that we drank Lebanese wine

The food at this Lebanese restaurant was delicious!